1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a latching mechanism for a battery cover assembly and, particularly, to battery cover assembly including a latching mechanism facilitating a rotatable engagement of the battery cover with the housing.
2. Description of Related Art
Batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and so on. A conventional battery is attachably received in a housing of the electronic device, and a battery cover is designed to connect with the housing so as to enclose, retain, and protect the battery. The battery may need to be removed and/or replaced when, for example, it becomes damaged, exhausted, and/or otherwise in need of recharging or replacement. In order to permit removal of the battery, the battery cover must be designed so as to be releasably attached to the housing.
Typically, the battery cover can be slidably engaged with the housing. More specifically, the battery cover is aligned with the housing and directly pushed or slid toward the housing until the battery cover is secured with the housing. However, in some cases the battery cover needs to be rotatably engaged with the housing. More specifically, the battery cover has one side thereof hinging from/with a corresponding side of the housing. The other opposite side of the battery cover is rotated toward the other opposed side of the housing until the battery cover is secured with the housing. However, when the battery cover is slidably assembled with the housing, a good deal of force usually needs to be exerted on the battery cover for it to be detached. Thus, the battery cover could easily be damaged if excessive force is applied. If the battery cover is rotatably assembled to/with the housing, a need to exert excessive force on the battery cover in disassembly can typically be avoided, and the battery cover will not, accordingly, be damaged by excessive applied force.
However, when the battery cover has been rotatably assembled to the housing, there is usually an uneven gap between the battery cover and the housing. Typically, two claws are respectively added on the two inner sidewalls of the battery cover. Correspondingly, two recessed portions are respectively defined within the two external sidewalls of the housing. The two claws each firmly hook with a respective recessed portion so as to eliminate the gap between the battery cover and the housing. However, it is very difficult to strike a balance between eliminating the gap and maintaining an easy detachment of the battery cover. In other words, if the gap is further decreased, the battery cover then generally needs much more force applied thereto to detach.
Therefore, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.